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THEOLOGICAL CONCERNS with the “CHURCH GROWTH MOVEMENT” Dr. Mike Powell This Paper Is an Evaluation of Some of the Theologica

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THEOLOGICAL CONCERNS with the “CHURCH GROWTH MOVEMENT” Dr. Mike Powell This Paper Is an Evaluation of Some of the Theologica THEOLOGICAL CONCERNS WITH THE “CHURCH GROWTH MOVEMENT” Dr. Mike Powell This paper is an evaluation of some of the theological issues raised by many who hold to the “Church Growth” philosophy of ministry. The purpose of this paper is not simply to criticize what other Christians may be doing. It is my desire to theologically evaluate their message and methods in order to avoid the pitfalls and benefit from the good. We must remember that though similar in many ways, those in the “Church Growth” movement do have significant differences. It is therefore wrong to generalize from one ministry to another. 1. What Is “The Church Growth Movement”? It is a philosophy of ministry that is “seeker” driven. It sets out to determine what will attract the unchurched and then arranges services and designs ministries to appeal to the felt needs of the unsaved. 2. What Common Features Characterize “The Church Growth Movement”? a. They apply a business marketing approach to ministry. • They rely heavily upon sociological and demographic data. ♦ George Barna states, “This is what marketing of the church is all about providing our product (relationships) as a solution to people’s needs.” • They design their ministries to attract a certain focus group. b. Sunday morning services are designed to attract “Seekers.” • Casual dress and style • Contemporary music • Drama • A “positive” message • Most avoid anything that would make the unchurched feel uncomfortable. This includes controversial doctrines and topics, long prayers, and meditative or contemplative songs. c. They believe that “people will not learn the way they used to.” 3. Who Are The Major Personalities In Our Day? a. Bill Hybels • Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois • 1972 began “Son Life” ministry to high school students • 1973 began “Son City” outreach to unbelieving youth. The message, music, and environment were adapted to the audience. ♦ The “Son City” model became the prototype in the founding of Willow Creek Community Church. It is a youth ministry strategy applied to adults. • 1975 Hybels attended Robert Schuller’s leadership conference. ♦ He returned the Chicago area and recruited individuals to join him in starting a church. ♦ After starting Willow Creek he took approximately 25 members of Willow Creek’s leadership team to Schuller’s Conference. ♦ Since then the two have shared teaching at each other’s conferences. • 1992 he founded the Willow Creek Association (WCA) ♦ Over 5,000 churches worldwide, from more than eighty denominations, belong to the association. ♦ More that 65,000 church leaders and volunteers attended one of their conferences or training events in the year 2000 alone. b. Rick Warren • Southern Baptist pastor who followed Schuller’s pattern of using a community survey in founding Saddleback Valley Community Church in Orange County, California. • Author of The Purpose Driven Church (Grand Rapids, Mi: Zondervan, 1995) • His conferences and seminars have had an attendance of over 100,000 people from all over the world. • He is the most definitive and articulate writer of church growth theology and philosophy to date. c. Lee Strobel • A former teaching pastor at Willow Creek and now on staff at Saddleback. • Board member of the Willow Creek Association • Author of numerous books including, Inside The Mind Of Unchurched Harry And Mary, The Case For Christ, and The Case For Faith. d. George Barna • Christian pollster and the leading advocate of the evangelical use of marketing techniques • Formerly attended Willow Creek and still has an ongoing association ♦ “It was during my time in Wheaton, Illinois, while attending the Rev. Hybel’s church that I first had my eyes opened to the meaning of evangelism and church growth. If I had my way, there would be 100,000 Willow Creek Churches in this country.” (George Barna, Marketing the Church, 7-8) • He has become an authority for much of the movement through his research and absolute statements of what will and will not work in the modern church. 2 4. Of What Theological Concerns Do We Need To Be Aware? a. Theology Proper (The Doctrine Of God) • Beware of presenting an inaccurate view of God in order to attract people. ♦ In many churches which hold to the “Church Growth” philosophy there is a tendency to present an unbalance view of the nature of God. ◊ From his study of Willow Creek, G. A. Pritchard writes, “I found only four messages in which God’s holiness was presented clearly over the course of the year. This amounts to about 7 percent of the messages, in contrast to 70 percent of the messages emphasizing God’s love. For every message that stressed God’s holiness, there were about ten messages that emphasized God’s love.” (Willow Creek Seeker Services 261) ♦ Theologian Millard Erickson writes, “Where either is overemphasized at the expense of the other, the orthodox theistic conception is lost.” (Erickson, Christian Theology 302) ◊ Emphasizing God’s love over His holiness ◊ Focusing on God’s immanence over His transcendence ◊ Teaching an affirming God, not a demanding one ♦ There is also a tendency to emphasize that God is to be experienced rather than obeyed. ◊ Sociologist Robert Wuthnow suggests that in contemporary America, God has been molded to satisfy people’s needs ◊ He writes, “God has, in a sense, become “subjectivized” rather than existing as a metaphysical transcendent, or omnipotent being . God is relevant to contemporary Americans mainly because the sense of God’s presence is subjectively comforting: that is, religion solves personal problems rather than addressing broader questions.” b. Anthropology (The Doctrine Of Mankind) • Beware of exchanging a Biblical view of mankind for a psychological one. ♦ Psychological terminology and diagnosis are often preferred above biblical assertions and terminology by some in the movement. ◊ Prichard found that, “Hybels and his fellow speakers regularly use psychological terms to describe the Christian life. The leaders of Willow Creek admit in interviews that a significant amount of weekend messages’ content comes from psychology.” (WCSS 155) ◊ “Hybels not only teaches psychological principles, but often uses the psychological principles as interpretive guides for his exegesis of Scripture.” (WCSS 156) ◊ “Three of the most recommended, read, and influential books in the church are the psychological self-help books Codependent No More, Please Understand me, and When Your World Makes No Sense.” (WCSS 227-228) 3 ◊ Self-identity, temperament, family history, importance of emotions, self-analysis, addiction, self-esteem, boundaries, detachment, control issues and conflict resolution were all prominent topics. ♦ Psychological categories have become central to people’s worldview. It affects how individuals view themselves, their relationships, and life in general. It is the basis upon which people determine right and wrong and view personal responsibility for sin. ♦ Secular psychological personality theories provide alternative and rival understandings to the Christian view of the person. ◊ Self-esteem, self actualization, co-dependency, addictive personality, temperament, etc • Beware of using psychological categories and concepts to better identify with the unchurched. They ultimately distort the Christian message. ♦ Psychology doesn’t accurately define mankind’s problems or God’s solutions? ♦ When we seek to translate the gospel message into the language of psychology there is a subtle changing of the gospel. c. Soteriology (The Doctrine Of Salvation) • Beware of altering the gospel in order to attract “seekers” or gain converts. ♦ Marketing distorts how Christians view nonbelievers and the process of telling others the gospel. • Avoid the trend of presenting the gospel as the solution to emotional needs and personal fulfillment. ♦ The focus of our message can subtly change from sin and redemption to fulfillment and self-esteem. ♦ The gospel can be changed to being simply a means of fulfillment and the church becomes another place that promises to satisfy emotional desires. ♦ Though the gospel is clearly understood by the staff at Willow Creek, the message is often blurred from the pulpit. ◊ Pritchard writes, “In the year I studied, it was only rarely that Hybels or another speaker would proclaim the whole gospel during one message.” (WCSS 173) ♦ The central theme most often is that the Christian life is an adventure and a means of personal fulfillment. ◊ Christianity is presented as the answer to anxiety, pain, meaning, identity, self- esteem, loneliness, marriage, sex, parenting, and work. ◊ In essence the “seekers” are being told that Christianity will satisfy their felt needs and is the best means to make them happy. 4 ◊ Strobel describes how many unchurched “Harrys” hesitate to make a commitment to Christ because they don’t want to give up the excitement in their lives: They’re afraid that if they receive Christ as their forgiver and as their leader that they’re gonna lose out on all the excitement in life. “Say, you know, am I going to be able to go out and party anymore?” “Am I gonna be able to have fun anymore?” “Am I gonna be able to be aggressive at work anymore?” (WCSS 142) ◊ In response Strobel claims, “The Christian life is uniquely exciting.” He asserts, “If you sign up for this kind of spiritual safari . it’s more exciting than any kind of safari that a travel agent can book you on.” (WCSS 142) ◊ Willow Creek evangelism director Mark Mittelberg explains, “We’re seeing more and more that Harry relates to a message that shows how Christianity helps his daily life more than how he can make sure he’ll get to heaven in thirty or forty years.” (WCSS 145) ♦ But Jesus does not guarantee that his followers will find personal fulfillment in this life. cf Mt 10:34; John 15:19-20 ♦ Jesus made it clear that sinners cannot come to Him on their own terms. cf Luke 9:23 ♦ The Bible doesn’t teach a fulfillment theology, but a theology that includes suffering.
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